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I N 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J P. PALME TRACTION ENGINE.

(No Model.)

Patgnted Feb. 5. 1884.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet J. F; PALMER.

TRACTION ENGINE.

No. 293.065. Patented Feb. 5, 1884;"

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, UNrr n STATES PATENT Enron.

J. ronimx PALMER, or AUBURN, NEW YORK, AssIGNoE ro HIMSELF, JOHN sEYMonn, AND SIDNEY w. PALMER, ALL or SAME PLACE.

TRACTION-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 293,065, dated .Febriiary o, 1884. Application filed November 5, 1953 No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.

Be it known that I, J. EORMAN PALMER, of Auburn, in the county of Cayuga, and in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Traction-Engines;

- engine with my steering apparatus applied thereto; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same with the boiler removed and the upper end of the friction-gear drivingshaft broken away; and Fig. 3, a detail view of the rack and pinion used to turn the front axle to guide the engine, said view being on an enlarged scale.

The object of my invention is to provide an improvement in steering apparatus for traction-engines; and to this end it consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as hereinafter described, and more specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A. designates the boiler, having at itsrear end the usual fire-box, B.

O designates the shaft, which drives the main driving-wheels D in the ordinary way and by the usual gearing. From the bracket or box 0, inwhich this shaft is journaled and supported, a short arm, d, extends downward. In this arm is journaled the upper end of a shaft, E, upon which, near its upper end, is fixed'the bevel-gear pinion F, meshing with the corresponding bevel gear wheel, G, on shaft 0. Nearit-s lower end the shaft E is journaled in a boxer bearing, 0, attached to the side ofthe boiler or otherwise supported, as desired. A collar, 6, on the shaft bears against the upper end of the box or bearing and keeps the shaft from movinglongitudinally downward through such box. Upon the lower end of the shaft is a beveled friction geanwheel, G. The shaft E- is slightly inclined backward and downward, as

shown. At right angles to this .shaft is another shaft, H, journaled in boxes h h h, and kept from longitudinal movement by suitable collars or any other desired means. The rear end of this shaft extends upward and backward, so as to be within reach of the engineer or driver,

and at its extreme rear end is squared, so as to receive a detachable crank arm when the shaft is to be turned by hand.

Upon the shaft, near its lower end and'between boxes h and h, are sleeved the bevel friction-wheels I and I, attached together by the intervening sleeve portion, I. These Wheels are beveled in opposite directions, so that, with the connecting part, they form a spool-shaped piece. This spool or double gear slides upon the shaft, but is caused to turn with it by means of a suitable spline or feather. The short sleeve 2' extends rearward from this double gear, and is suitably grooved to receive a loose collar, K. to which is pivoted the forked end of rod or link L, which extends rearward and upward parallel with the shaft H. In ears extending from the bracket of the journal-box: for the rear end of this shaft is pivoted the end of lever M, with which lever is pivotally connected the end of linkrod L. By this means the double friction-gear can be slid back and forth on its shaft. The axial line of shaft E passes through the middle joint of the, sleeve 1, connecting the two friction gear-wheels when the double gear is at the middle point of its travel on the shaft and the lever M is upright. The bevel friction-wheel on the lower end of the shaft E is, as shown, between the two connected bevel-wheels, and is beveled at a corresponding angle. The wheels I and I are at such a distance apart that both are out of contact with wheel G when they are midway of their travel on shaft Before they reach the limit of their travel in either direction on the shaft between journalboxes h h, one of the wheels will come into frictional contact with wheel G, and the latter, as'it is always turning with shaft E, will ro tate the shaft Hthrough the medium of such wheel. The direction of such rotation will of course depend upon which one of the two connected wheels I and I is in contact with G. The shaftI-I can then be made to rotate in one direction, to stop, and to revolve in the other direction, according as the lever M is drawn back, set upright, or thrown forward.

Upon the lower and forward end of shaft H is fastened the bevel-toothed pinion N, which meshes with corresponding bevel-gear wheel 0 on a transverse shaft, I, supported and journaled in suitable brackets from the under side of the boiler. Upon this shaft is a worm, Q, which meshes with a worm-wheel, R, upon the shaft Sand near its rear end. At this end the shaft is journaled above shaft 1 and from that point it extends forward and downward in a vertical plane through the axial line of the boiler. Theworm-wheel is mounted loosely on the shaft, but is held from longitudinal movement thereon. It is provided with a clutch-hub, r, with which engages the clutchsleeve 0*, splined or feathered on the shaft. This clutch-sleeve is fastened in or out of clutch with the hub by means of set-screw 1'';

Upon the front and lower end of shaft S is a bevel-toothed pinion, T. A bracket, U, extends downward from the bottom of the boiler, and in it is journaled the shaft S. The lower end of the bracket extends to the front, as shown. This fbrward-projecting piece U is, as shown, provided with a groove, a, the face of the bottom of which is made parallel with the bevel'line of the teeth on the lower side of pinionT. A curved rib, 1, upon the under side of the segmental rack V enters this groove a and rests upon the inclined bottom of the latter or piece U. The pinion T on shaft S meshes with the rack, as shown, and in its revolution in one direction and the other moves the rack V back and forth, causing it to slide upon the supporting-arm U.

At each end of the rack, beyond the teeth thereof, there is an upturned curved piece, 1), which pieces act as stops to prevent too great movement of the rack in either direction. The curvature of the inner faces of these stops corresponds with that of the pinion T. One or more of the teeth 1 'v, at each end of the rack, are made yielding, as shown.

The material forming the rack is recessed underneath, as indicated at o in dot-ted lines in Fig. 3, and from the upper end of this recess a slot, '0', is cut up through the rack of a size and shape to allow the tooth v to pass up through and fit closely within it. Each of these teeth is made in one piece with the enlarged portion c", which fits and slides in the recess 1;, and the squared end of which abuts against the upper end of such recess when the tooth is forced up into place on a line and plane with the other teeth. A spring, V, attached to the under side of the rack, presses against the lower ends of the enlarged portion a", and tends to keep the teeth normally in place.

A spring can be provided for each one of the teeth, as desired, and instead of the'leafspring shown a coiled spring surrounding the enlarged portion of each tooth and contained within the recess for such portion could be usedand adapted to serve the same purpose as the spring shown and described.

Rigidly attached to and extending forward from the rack are the arms IV V V, connected by thefcurved piece W. At its front end the web formed of these arms and curved portion is connected with the front axle-tree of the engine by means of lugs 10, pivoted in ears to w, projecting rearward from such axle-tree, which is pivotally connected with the engine in the ordinary manner, as shown. The rigid connecting-piece extending forward from the rack, can of course be made of any other desired form besides that shown and described. Instead of being open, it could of course consist of a segmental plate; but I prefer substantially the form above set forth,- as it is both light and strong.

In dotted or broken lines inFigs. 1 and 2 is shown a modified form of my steering-gear. In this form. the shaft E is the one which is driven from the main driving-shaft of the engine,by suitable gearing, as the shaft E was in the form described above. This shaft is also to be supported and journaled in substantially the same manner as that one; but is to be situated above the outer end of the transverse shaft, upon which is the worm, as already described. I

Upon the lower end of shaft E is a frictioncone exactly similar to that on shaft E, and on the outer end of the worm-shaft I is a double cone or friction-spool of form and construction exactly the same as that 011 shaft H, before described. To the ring in the groove on the hub of this spool is pivoted the forked end .of lever G,fulcrumed on pivot G, and extending backward to a point within reach of the driver or engineer. The friction-cone on shaft E,and constantlyrevolving with said shaft,is

situated between the two friction-cones on.

the cone on shaft E, or they will both be out,

of contact therewith and at rest.

Upon shaft E, and about midway of its length, is a bevel-gear wheel, E.

Upon a shaft, L, at about a right angle to shaft E, is acorresponding bevel-gear wheel, L, adapted to mesh with E. This shaft L is supported and journaled in suitable boxes attached to the side of the boiler or frame of the engine, and is capable of longitudinal movement therein. Its rear end, which is within reach of the driver, is squared to receive a crank by which the driver can turn the shaft L as desired by hand. As the shaft can be slid in its boxes, the wheel L can be put into and out of gear with E, as desired.

\Vhen the engine is at rest and it is found necessary to cramp the front wheels before the engine is started, so that a sharp corner can be turned, the shaft L is slid forward until the wheel L meshes with gear-wheel E, and then is turned by means of the crank. By means of the lever G the direction in which the worm-shaft will be turned through the connecting-gear by such rotation of shaft L can be regulated.

Suitable clutch mechanism may be employed ICO flo

in connection with the gearing by which the shaft E is driven from the main driving-shaft, so that when the hand adjusting devices just.

described are used the shaft E or the gearing upon its upper end may be left free to revolve independently of such driving-shaft.

With my steering apparatus, as clearly set forth above, and shown in the drawings, the

engine can be quickly and easily steered in any desired direction by the simple shifting of a lever forward and back while the engine is in motion, and all the power necessary to cramp the front wheels is supplied from the engine itself. I thus do away with slow and tiresome means now in use for guiding tractionengines where a wheel or crank has to be turned by hand to turn the front axle-tree. As such turning of the axle-tree requires great power, the hand-wheel has to be so geared therewith as to turn it very slowly and by a great number of revolutions. With my power apparatus a simple shifting of the lever is all that is necessary. Too great cramping of the front wheels by this power apparatus is pre vented by the stops at the ends of the rack and the spring-teeth. When the rack-moving pinion strikes the concave inner face of one of these stops,it may continue to revolve without strain upon the rack or liability to breakage, because the spring-teeth at the end of the series of rack-teeth will yield readily to allow such revolution.

To prevent strain on the frame of the engine and the supporting-bracket for the segmental rack, as the engine is driven over uneven ground, space is left between the rear face of the rack and the bracket, as shown, and the groove which receives the curved rib on the bottom of said rack is made larger than the rib, so as not tofitit closely.

The plane of the racksupporting surface of the'bracket, as shown, is parallel to that of the teeth on the pinion, so that the rack in its play backward and forward will remain in mesh with such teeth.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and merits of my invention, what I claim is 1. In a steering apparatus for traction-engines, the friction-wheel driven by means of suitable connections from the driving mechanism of the engine,and the steering mechanism for turning the front axle to guide the machine, the two friction-wheels connected with the steering mechanism by suitable gearing, and adapted to be brought into frictional contact with opposite sides of the power-driven friction-wheel at will, so that the steering mechanism can be driven in either direction, and means for so bringing either one of the wheels into contact with the power-wheel, as desired, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a steering apparatus for traction-engines, the combination of the friction-wheel driven by suitable connectin ggearin g from the driving mechanism of the engine, with the friction-wheels adapted to be brought into contact with either side of said frietion-wheel,'the

shaft upon which they slide, but which turns shaft of the engine, the double friction wheel or spool feathered on a shaft and adapted to be slid thereon, so that it can be brought into contact with one side or the other of the single friction-wheel,and be turned thereby in either direction, and suitable connecting gearing or mechanism between this shaft and the front axle, all so arranged and constructed that by the rotating of the shaft the axle will be caused to swing on its pivot to guide the engine, substantially as shown and described.

4. In combination with the friction cone driven from the driving-shaft of the engine, the double cone sliding on a shaft and adapted to be brought into contact with either side of the single cone, means for so shifting the double cone within reach of the driver, the bevel-wheel on said shaftmeshing with the bevelgear on a shaft carrying a worm, and the worm-wheel meshing with this worm and fixed on a shaft which bears at its front end a bevelwheel, which meshes with and actnates a segmental. rack attached to the front axle by means of suitable arms, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The segmental steeringrack connected by suitable arms with the front axle and provided with upturned portions at each end, to act as stops to limit the movement of the rack, and with yielding teeth at each end of the series of rack-teeth, in combination with a pinion for actuating such rack, so as to turn the front axle, substantially as shown and described.

6. In the steering apparatus for a tractionengine, the shaft which carries the rack-actuating pinion, in combination with thewormwheel loosely mounted on the shaft and driven by suitable mechanism, and a clutch for connecting and disconnecting the worm-wheel and shaft, substantially as shown.

I11 a steering apparatus for traction-en gines, the friction-cone driven by gearing connecting it with the driving-shaft of the engine, the shaft at right angles to the shaft of the friction-cone, a double friction cone or spool sliding 011 this shaft, with one of, the cones composing it on each side of the power-driven cone, and means for shifting such double cone back and forth on its shaft, to throw it into contact with either side of the single cone or out of contact with the latter, and suitable connecting mechanism between this shaft and the segmental steering-rack attached to the front axle, all in combination, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The shaft carrying the sliding double friction cone or spool, which is adapted to be cone, substantially as and for the purpose set thrown into or out of contact with the powerforth. driven cone, connected by suitable gearing In testimony that I claim the foregoing I with the pinion meshing with and actuating have hereunto set my hand this 3d day of 5 the segmental steering-rack, find ledzqgted a; October A. D. 1883.

its rear end to receive a cram w ere y sai T shaft can be turned by hand to cramp the FORMAL PALMER" front axle when the machine is at rest or when j it-messes: I it is in motion but the double friction-cone is HENRY O. HAZARD, 1o shifted out of contact with the power-driven, PHILIP F. LARNER. 

